Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Soccer-Barcelona taken to extra time before overcoming third tier InterCity in Cup
Former Barcelona junior Oriol Soldevila scored a hat-trick against his old club but still ended on the losing side as third tier InterCity took the LaLiga giants to extra time before losing 4-3 in a dramatic Copa del Rey tie on Wednesday. InterCity, promoted to the third division last season, came from behind three times to force extra time after a 3-3 draw at the end of 90 minutes, but were then knocked out when substitute Ansu Fati netted a 103rd-minute winner in Alicante.
Soccer-Kane closes in on Greaves record, Forest move out of bottom three
Harry Kane closed in on Jimmy Greaves’ all-time Tottenham Hotspur goalscoring record as he helped Spurs thrash Crystal Palace 4-0 in the Premier League on Wednesday, while Nottingham Forest beat Southampton to move out of the relegation zone. West Ham United and Leeds United remain embroiled in a relegation battle after the pair drew 2-2 at Elland Road, while Unai Emery’s Aston Villa were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Soccer-Sarri struggles to understand how Lazio allowed Lecce to complete comeback win
Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri was at a loss to explain how his team let a 1-0 halftime lead slip away in their disappointing 2-1 defeat by Lecce in Serie A on Wednesday. “It’s difficult to give an explanation after these situations. The team played thirty minutes of high level, in complete control of the match,” Sarri told Sky Sports. “It’s not a tactical problem”.
Tennis-Kyrgios expected to be fit for Australian Open despite latest withdrawal
Nick Kyrgios is expected to be fit to play at the Australian Open despite pulling out of a second warm-up tournament following his withdrawal from next week’s Adelaide International with an ankle injury, his manager told Australian media. Kyrgios, ranked 22nd in the world and runner-up at last year’s Wimbledon, has already missed the United Cup and will go into the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 16, having not played singles since the ATP event in Tokyo in October.
Soccer-Danielle Reyna told U.S. Soccer about Berhalter domestic violence incident – reports
Danielle Reyna, the mother of U.S. men’s national team midfielder Gio Reyna, notified U.S. Soccer last month about a 1991 incident where head coach Gregg Berhalter kicked his wife, ESPN and other outlets reported on Wednesday. Danielle, who has known Gregg and Rosalind Berhalter for years, reportedly made the federation aware of the fight between the pair outside a bar 31 years ago after Berhalter criticized her son after the World Cup.
Rugby-Marler sorry for insulting opponent’s mother but says sledging is the norm
Harlequins and England prop Joe Marler has apologised for insulting an opponent’s mother but said that kind of sledging is “the norm” in rugby. Marler was handed a two-week ban for comments made to Bristol Bears’ Jake Heenan as well as an additional four-week ban suspended until the end of the 2023/24 season.
Soccer-Singh Gill is Premier League’s first Sikh assistant referee
Bhupinder Singh Gill made history as the Premier League’s first Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee on Wednesday when he ran the line in Southampton’s home game against Nottingham Forest at St Mary’s. The 37-year-old comes from a soccer family, with father Jarnail Singh the first referee to wear a turban in the English league and officiating in more than 150 Football League (EFL) games between 2004-10.
Soccer-Juventus score late winner at Cremonese to continue winning run
Arkadiusz Milik scored a stoppage-time free kick to earn Juventus a 1-0 Serie A win at Cremonese on Wednesday in an engrossing game with several chances for both sides. Juventus earned a free kick one minute into stoppage time, with Milik sending it over the wall and into the bottom-right corner as Cremonese keeper Marco Carnesecchi got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.
NFL-Bills’ Hamlin shows improvement, remains in critical condition
The Buffalo Bills said on Wednesday that safety Damar Hamlin has shown “signs of improvement” since suffering a cardiac arrest during a Monday night NFL game in Cincinnati, but that he is still in critical condition. “Damar remains in the ICU (intensive care unit) in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight,” the Bills said in a social media post.
Soccer-Inter end Napoli’s unbeaten start as Juve extend winning streak to seven
Napoli’s 11-match winning streak and unbeaten start to the Serie A season ended on Wednesday when Edin Dzeko’s second-half goal secured Inter Milan a 1-0 victory. Napoli are still top of the table with 41 points after 16 games but their advantage over second-placed AC Milan, who beat Salernitana 2-1, narrowed to five points.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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